I am trying not to be terrified

[claytonpiano]

We have 3 katahdin ewe lambs in our barn tonight. We made a 6 hour trip (3 hours there and 3 hours back) to buy these little things and now I am wondering what I am doing. I am praying that I don't kill them the first week. I have read everything I can get my hands on, but it seems so jumbled as we begin this experience. They are 2 months old and look beautiful. Next week we will invest in a little boy to get to know the girls he will breed in a few months. 

I thought our pasture would be better. There are so many places where the clover and grasses are just not coming back yet, but the 4 paddocks in the front are beginning to look lush. In the meantime, they are enjoying the hay in the stall DH built for them. 

My grandkids are so excited as the lambs look at them with terrified eyes. I know we can do this, but unchartered territory always scares me! 

The first hurdle is that we must give them a vaccination in a week and a half. My daughter, the nurse, can hardly wait. Me, I'm going to close my eyes and hope that we are hitting the right place. 

So, what advice do you have for me? I would love to hear any and everything.

[Deleted]

That's wonderful claytonpiano. Really happy for you and can't wait to see pictures.

Sheep are more robust than people give them credit for and I'm sure you'll do just fine. There's only a couple of general things I would say. One is making too much of a pet of your ram lamb when you get him. It's tempting, but rams have been known to become dangerous when they completely lose their wariness of humans. I've got 3 here at the moment and while they're easy for me to control, I don't turn my back on them, particularly when it comes close to tupping season and they get all hormonal. Also, if you're intending to keep your ram separate after tupping, then I suggest you get a wether to put in with him for company. Sheep are herd animals and don't generally do well on their own. Some people run their rams with the ewe flock all year - only problem with that is it's hard to judge lambing times if you're hoping to have it all done at once. My breed, the Polwarth, can come into cycle all year. Others only at certain times.

Secondly, I personally would be wary breeding your young girls that early. If they're a couple of months old now, and you intend breeding them in another few months, that would make them about 6 months. They're still babies at that stage. Hogget breeding can be risky and if you do go there, it's important to keep an eye on the weight of your ewes before putting the ram to them. I don't put mine to the ram under 35-40kg (or at least 60-70% of an adult ewe weight), and they would need to be in good body condition. I tend to breed my ewes at about 18 months - certainly no younger than 12. Having said that, I admit I'm not familiar with your breed; it's not one we have here, so others will be perhaps able to give you more appropriate advice for the Katahdin.

There is lots of helpful information on the net about raising lambs/sheep, and as a dyed in the wool sheep lover, I just know you're going to have a lot of fun. Do keep us posted.

[mzgarden]

I know nothing about sheep but I know the feeling you describe very well. I get so very nervous when we start on a new adventure and I feel like I don't have enough experience. I have to believe you will do well -- because you are obviously concerned about their welfare. That by itself speaks volumes. If I were talking to myself I'd say -- self - take a breath, take it easy, others do this so can you. You can do this and experts here will mentor you. Lastly -- where's those pictures?

[ketoriverfarm]

claytonpiano, Just wanted to second what @kiwifarmgal, said.

I am always wary of my rams. And I rarely go into an enclosure with them. Especially not during breeding season.

And I also do not breed my ewe lambs the until they are over a year old. Lots of people do, but I think it is too hard on the ewe to be pregnant when she is not fully grown.

There are several very experienced shepherds on here. So ask away. And I love sheep. And while I am not familiar with your breed; sheep are wonderful animals and have great personalities.

[Awnry Abe]

Relax! Katahdins are the Sherman tank of the livestock world. They may find a way to murder themselves in a stock tank or gate or something, but as far as health is concerned, they are extremely hardy.

Enjoy!

(And they taste superb)

[shellymay]

claytonpiano , We own 200 Katahdin ewes andout of the 200 (sixty) of them are yearlings (born March 2015) and they were born on our place, 40 of them are for sale and willprobabley sell next month, we DON'T sell our ewe lambs until they are at least 1 yr old to prevent people from buying them and breeding them to young, we are selves will not breed the 20 left that we will keep to add to our flock until they reach 1 1/2 yrs old. The rest of the members who mensioned not breeding that soon are correct in theiropinions, the Katahdin ewe will not reach her breeding weight until she is around 1- 1 1/2 yrs old on grass and or normal hay.....if you breed them to young they will havebirthing problems and you may lose the eweand lamb and it just not worth it in the end. I am not saying that you can't start feeding grain and alfalfa hay EVERY single day from now until they are 10 months of age and breed them at that time, but who in their right mind is gonna put that kind of exspense into a ewe and be lucky to get one lamb at that age, breed them later (older then a year) on grass and decent hay and your chances are real good at twins I think that itis great that you came here and asked advice first as that shows you care but I am very concerned as to the why the seller of your lambs didn't mentor you and tell you notto bred that young? also the seller shouldof showed how to administer shots and check for worms and hoof care, thud!! please feel free to ask any questions that you may have or concerns and like everyone else says where are our pictures I also agree about the ram, no sence getting one any time soon if you don't breed until later and then you can purchase a proven ramand one that is non agressive!

[Deleted]

I agree with shellymay if the breeder knew you were inexperienced with sheep and gave you wrong information. But don't let that give you cause to worry - that's what your friends here are for, and believe me - we all start somewhere. To give you an example of my own, when we first came here, there were sheep already on the property. I thought it was great but knew absolutely nothing about them or how to care for them. To my eternal sorrow, I failed to recognise the signs of flystrike until it was too late, and our neighbour had to put the sheep down. It was a quick learning curve after that. So you see, you've actually done a really great thing by asking, claytonpiano. There are no such things as stupid questions and, speaking personally, any chance to share experiences and knowledge with fellow sheep owners such as yourself is something that I really enjoy. So ... where are those pictures?

[Deleted]

Actually, I just thought about something else after re-reading your first post claytonpiano . One of the things that had me foxed in the early days was learning the difference between internal parasite-induced 'runs' and that caused in spring by being put on new lush grass. After a winter of being on a hay/grass diet, being put out on spring grass sometimes causes diarrhoea - not so much in my adult ewes, but more in the lambs - and it's easy to mistake that for internal parasites and over-treat them.

If you're introducing the lambs to spring grass (or any new feed), it might be good to do it gradually - say an hour or so exposure a day, until their digestive systems come to grips with the richer feed.

[Maura]

I would not breed the girls until they are full grown. For most ewes, that would be the year after they were born, so they would be about a year and a half. You just have fewer problems and healthier ewes and lambs. You might want to hold off getting a ram.

I also agree on introducing them to pasture slowly. Typically, they will gradually move from hay to grass as the new grass comes up and do it themselves. In your situation, try giving them hay in the morning before letting them onto the pasture. If you are home, bring them in in the afternoon and repeat. Keep pepto on hand or baking soda in case they get the runs from the rich pasture. Clover is too rich and if you have clover you don’t want them on it long.

[claytonpiano]

Thanks all for the advice! I had not planned to breed them until they were a year old, but from your advice...... a year and a half would be better. How do you give them the baking soda and pepto? See, I know nothing at all. Pictures. Will try to do that tomorrow!!

You are wonderful. Thanks so much for you help!!! They are still breathing and seem okay. One has slightly loose stools. I'm sure the hay we are feeding is not the grass they were eating. We are keeping them penned up for a week or so until they learn we are the ones who have food for them and then will let them play in one of the prepared paddocks.

[Deleted]

Hey claytonpiano - see, you're doing well - lambs are still alive! All is good.

Just some info for you. Lambs are quite prone to internal parasites - as they become adult they grow more resistant to them. So if yours get any looser than 'grenades' as opposed to pellets, then it might pay to have a faecal sample tested by your vet to confirm the level of parasite burden in your wee ones, then treat with a lamb wormer if necessary. It's not expensive (well, here at least), either for the test or the treatment. It's a bit of a fine line, as I said, to know whether runs are due to worms or new pasture, but constant diarrhoea will bring the lambs down quite quickly. The good thing is that if you haven't had goats (which have similar parasites to sheep) or sheep before, then your pasture should be pretty free of worms, but the same may not necessarily be said for the previous owners. However, if the lambs were on ewes milk up until the time you took them, they should be fairly OK.

Keeping sheep on the same pasture for any great length of time will increase the risk of worms, so if you can, do a bit of reading up on rotational grazing and treatment of parasites. There's a school of thought (one that I personally subscribe to) that worming should be kept to a minimum, and then only treating the sheep that need it - not necessarily the whole flock. That way you reduce the likelihood of parasite resistance in your pasture (resistance means the worms become immune to some or all of the worm treatments and they become less effective when you need them) and it helps builds up immunity in the sheep.

Thanks for reminding me about the baking soda/pepto Maura . I'd forgotten that it helps settle grumbly sheep tummies.

[shellymay]

claytonpiano , Basic things you will need, sheep mineral (granulated) you can find it at a Southern States farm store, or places like TSC and some local farm stores will carry or order it in for you, they will need this mineral in front of them 24/7 in some kind of feed tray don't leave it out where the rain can get to it. All farm stores have a ORAL drench applicator that you will need to get, get the big 100 ml I think it is, you can use it for oral wormers, Pepto, water with molasses ect ect, Don't waste your money on grains with molasses as it only attracts flies Yuck!!! a grower starter pellet for lambs is good and you can start feeding them a hand full each to help tame them and become best friends   A thermometer is a great tool to have and of course needles and syringes, work with your vet on what wormers to have on hand (if you decide to have the vet check fecal he/she will know what wormers needed) A decent pair of hoof trimmers are a must also. Your question about the baking soda use store bought Arm and  Hammer and just sprinkle it in with the mineral or some people have two feed trays one with mineral and the other with baking soda, but again it has to be out of rain and wind as it will blow away and or become ruined by rain, So this means the girls must have access to a building of some sort to be able to go into for the minerals and such anytime they want, or you could buy a mineral feeder (which I will get you a picture of ours) so you can see what I am talking about. This is a good start with just the lambs, later when your girls are ready to be bred you will need several more things, again I can't say it enough about building a great relationship with a sheep vet as they are life savers when it comes to some meds    

[Deleted]

Just wondered how your little ones were doing claytonpiano . Did the vaccinations go OK and is the 'terror' subsiding? And where are those pictures, hmmmmm? Looking forward to seeing them, so get that camera out.